BIG MOUNTAIN NATURE RESERVE

Grande Montagne is a reserve rich in biodiversity, covering just over 25 hectares (of which more than 80% has been restored in 20 years) and is home to several species of endemic plants and animals. It is one of the two reserves in Rodrigues that were established by the Mauritian government in 1983 because it is home to the remnants of the native forest and still serves as a habitat for rare species in great danger of extinction. Thanks to the preservation work carried out by the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation and the Forestry Service, more than forty rare endemic plants are protected there, such as the Brown Coffee (Ramosmania rodriguesii), the Ironwood, the Stinking Wood(Foetidia rodriguesiana), the Mandrinette(Hibiscus liliflorus), etc.

Thus reconstituted, the habitat is also favorable to specific animal species and notably to the last three endemic species placed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species : the Rodrigues fruit bat, the Rodrigues cardinal and the Rodrigues warbler.

At the bottom of the reserve, a small information center exhibits paintings of extinct species (plants and birds) and the skeletons of two extinct animals: a giant land tortoise and the Solitaire (in a way the Rodriguan equivalent of the Mauritian Dodo). We then enter the reserve by a flight of stairs for a beautiful and interesting guided and commented walk to a superb viewpoint.